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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — money
  5. wind — moving air
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. club — a group
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. row — to paddle
  10. club — for dancing
  11. club — for golf
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. fine — all right
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wind — moving air
  18. row — a line

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com